Decorative wall hanging assembly

ABSTRACT

A system for mounting a structural member upon a vertical wall, the vertical wall supporting a planar mounting board having a back surface appended to the vertical wall and a front surface facing away from the vertical wall. The front surface of the mounting board is provided with a plurality of horizontally extending grooves, each of the grooves having a channel opening at the front surface of the planar mounting board and a flared cut out region extending within the planar mounting board extending from each of the channel openings. The structural members are provided with at least one vertical surface for mounting upon the planar mounting board and includes at least one hook-shaped bracket sized to fit within a first one of the horizontally extending grooves only upon rotating the structural member diagonally with respect to the planar mounting board and at least one straight bracket sized and positioned upon the at least one vertical surface to extend within a second one of the horizontally extending grooves after the hook-shaped bracket has been inserted within the first one of the horizontally extending grooves and the structural member has been rotated to assume a vertical orientation against the planar mounting board.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an improved system for mounting astructural member, such as a shelf, pedestal, desk, cabinet, pinboard orveneer. Not only is the shelving system of the present inventionstraightforward in its execution but, when properly configured, providesa degree of stability and adjustability far greater than correspondingsystems currently available.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There has not been significant innovation for quite some time relatingto the mounting of shelves and similar objects on substantially verticalwalls. Most mounting systems involve the use of planar sheet materialcomposed of lumber or synthetic substitutes which are joined to L-shapedbrackets. The L-shaped brackets structurally are composed of metal orwood and are provided with a first leg which is screwed or otherwisejoined to the shelf while its perpendicular counterpart is joineddirectly to the wall by screwing the bracket into a structural supportmember, such as a stud. Alternatively, a longitudinally extending wallbracket can be provided which, itself, is joined to a substantiallyvertically extending wall and which has a series of key slots foraccepting corresponding keys made part of the L-shaped bracket discussedpreviously.

Each shelf mounting system described above has its own set of advantagesand limitations. For brackets which are screwed or otherwise joineddirectly to the wall, the shelf is rigidly secured to its supportingstructure and resists inadvertent removal. However, the positioning ofthe shelf upon a suitable wall cannot be altered without removing theL-shaped bracket from the wall leaving behind unsightly holes which mustbe patched to provide an acceptable aesthetic appearance. Shelves whichemploy longitudinally extending brackets, keys and keyhole supports doallow for some degree of shelf repositioning but such a shelf system isstill fraught with inherent limitations. For example, often times, auser of such a shelving system may inadvertently contact the shelfeither with one's body or with an object being handled. The key slot caninadvertently disengage resulting in the shelf falling from itsassociated vertical wall spilling its supported contents onto thesurrounding floor. Further, even when a catastrophic disengagement doesnot occur, a user of such a shelving system oftentimes finds itsdifficult to line up appropriate keys and key slots particularly indealing with shelving of significant length. When misaligned, theshelves will not orient horizontally. It is clearly apparent there ismuch room to improve such systems making them more versatile and userfriendly.

In addition, there does not appear to be a viable system which iscapable of a single installation and which can accommodate platforms andstructures of various types without significant modification. In otherwords, there does not appear to be a system currently available whichcan properly support a shelf, pedestal, desk, cabinet and the like.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a system forsupporting shelving, pedestals, desks, cabinets, pinboards and veneerswithin a single installation without the need for employing elaborate ordifficult to use hardware.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system forsupporting and displaying shelving, desk, cabinets, pinboards andveneers and the like which can be readily applied and removed from asubstantially vertical wall structure and repositioned along saidstructure easily and conveniently without the need for the employment ofany tools or elaborate hardware.

These and further objects of the present invention will be more readilyappreciated when considering the following disclosure and appendeddrawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system for mounting a structural member upon a vertical wall, thevertical wall supporting a planar mounting board having a back surfaceappended to the vertical wall and a front surface facing away from thevertical wall. The front surface of the mounting board is provided witha plurality of horizontally extending grooves, each of the grooveshaving a channel opening at the front surface of the planar mountingboard and a flared cut out region extending within the planar mountingboard extending from each of the channel openings. The structuralmembers are provided with at least one vertical surface for mountingupon the planar mounting board and include at least one hook-shapedbracket sized to fit within a first one of the horizontally extendinggrooves only upon rotating the structural member diagonally with respectto the planar mounting board and at least one straight bracket sized andpositioned upon the at least one vertical surface to extend within asecond one of the horizontally extending grooves after the hook-shapedbracket has been inserted within the first one of the horizontallyextending grooves and the structural member has been rotated to assume avertical orientation against the planar mounting board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of a planar mounting board used inpracticing the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side cross sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A is a side plan view of a planar mounting board and structuralmember showing how these members engage one another.

FIG. 3B is a side plan view of the mounting board structural member ofFIG. 3A, once engaged.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a cabinet/desk configured for use inthe present invention.

FIG. 4B is a perspective view of a pinboard/veneer for use in thepracticing the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As noted previously, the present invention involves a system formounting a structural member upon a vertical wall. Turning first to FIG.1, vertical wall 10 is depicted supporting planar mounting board 11having a back surface appended to said vertical wall. Mounting can bedone through the use of any mechanical or chemical fasteners, such asscrews, nails, glue, etc. Further, planar mounting board 11 can beremovably hung upon vertical wall 10 by simply providing complimentaryhangar elements (not shown), the nature of which would be quite obviousto anyone skilled in this art.

Front surface 16 of planar mounting member 11 is provided with aplurality of horizontally extending grooves. Although planar mountingboard 11 can have any number of such grooves, for the sake of simplicityin explaining the present invention, the present figures depict onlyfour such grooves, namely, grooves 12, 13, 14 and 15. It is to be notedthat each of these grooves is provided with a channel opening 23 havingan expanded cross sectional dimension 24 as shown in FIG. 3A. Ideally,each of grooves 12, 13, 14 and 15 are identical in their dimension andin their spacing from one another.

It is contemplated that the system of the present invention can beemployed to conveniently install such structural members as shelves,pedestals, desks, cabinets, pinboards and veneers. Such a structuralmember is shown schematically in FIGS. 3A and 3B as element 20.Specifically, structural member 20 is shown having at least one verticalsurface 26 having mounted thereon, at least one hook-shaped bracket 21sized to fit within a first of said horizontally extending grooves 13only upon rotating structural member 20 as shown in FIG. 3A. Upon doingso, straight bracket 22 is sized and positioned upon said at least onevertical surface 26 to extend within a second one of said horizontallyextended grooves 12 after hook-shaped bracket 21 has been insertedwithin groove 13. As noted by reference to FIG. 3B, after structuralmember 20 has been rotated to assume an orientation such that surface 26aligns vertically and next to planar mounting bracket 11, hook-shapedbracket 21 is seated within groove 13 while straight bracket 22 isseated within groove 12.

Once considering the present invention, the benefits derived therefrombecome quite obvious. The joining of structural member 20 with planarmounting board 11 provides a structure which cannot be dislodged withoutfirst lifting straight bracket 22 out of groove 12 whereupon hook-shapedbracket 21 is then slid diagonally downward thus removing it from groove13. Inadvertent dislodgement is very difficult if not impossible.Further, in that grooves 12, 13, 14 and 15 extend horizontally acrossplanar mounting board 11 and are evenly spaced from one another,structural member 20 can easily be repositioned both horizontally andvertically by merely repeating the operation shown in FIG. 3A.

As noted previously, structural member 20 can take on a number ofphysical embodiments. For example, structural member 20 can become ashelf or pedestal supporting horizontal surface 8. As noted previously,the present invention is capable of readily applying, repositioning andsupporting a number of structural members, each of them being related byhaving the appropriately positioned hook-shaped and straight bracketsappended from a vertical surface to mate with the appropriate planarmounting board. FIGS. 4A and 4B further illustrate the flexibility ofthis system.

Turning first to FIG. 4A, cabinet 40 is shown having a top horizontalsurface 41 and vertical surface 42 creating a box-like structure whichcan, for example, support a number of parallel shelves 43. Vertical edge46 constituting the rear edge of vertical member 42 is shown supportinghook-shaped bracket 44 and straight bracket 45. Similar brackets wouldalso be positioned on the opposite side of the rear vertical edge,parallel to vertical member 42. Cabinet 40 could also function as a deskby eliminating shelves 43 to provide a space for one's knees to enterstructure 40 using top horizontal surface 41 as a writing surface.

FIG. 4B shows a pinboard 50 containing a border surrounding a corkedplanar sheet 51. Pinboard 50 is provided with rear vertical edge 54which in turn supports hooked-shaped bracket 52 and straight bracket 53as shown. As was the case with the embodiment of FIG. 4A, several shapedand straight brackets would also be configured within a vertical edge onthe opposite side of pinboard 50 in order to appropriately support thisstructural member upon a suitable planar mounting board. Further,pinboard 50, in eliminating corked region 51 or merely providing anartistic pattern to its front surface would create an aestheticenhancement to the appropriate vertical wall and planar mounting board.

1. A system for mounting a structural member upon a vertical wall, saidvertical wall supporting a planar mounting board having a back surfaceappended to said vertical wall and a front surface spaced away from saidvertical wall, said front surface having a plurality of horizontallyextending grooves, each of said grooves having a channel opening at thefront surface of said planar mounting board and a flared cut out regionextending within said planar mounting board extending from each of saidchannel openings, a structural member having at least one verticalsurface for mounting upon said planar mounting board, at least onehook-shaped bracket sized to fit within a first one of said horizontallyextending grooves only upon rotating said structural member diagonallywith respect to said planar mounting board and at least one straightbracket sized and positioned upon said at least one vertical surface toextend within a second one of said horizontally extending grooves aftersaid first hook-shaped bracket has been inserted within said first oneof said horizontally extending grooves and said structural member hasbeen rotated to assume a vertical orientation against said planarmounting board.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein said structural membercomprises a member selected from the group consisting of a shelf, apedestal, a desk, a cabinet, a pinboard and a veneer.